CHAPTER X.
A LONDON SENSATION.
It had rained most of the afternoon, and then cleared off beautifullyjust before twilight. Strand-on-the-Green, ever changeful of mood, wasthis evening as fresh and sweet-smelling as a bit of the upperThames--as picturesque as any waterside village a hundred miles fromLondon.
By the grassy margin of the river, between Maynard's boat-house and theelm trees, Jack Vernon strolled impatiently up and down. He was in lowspirits, and the beauty of the evening was wasted on him. He had beenhere for fifteen minutes, and he told himself that he had been a fool tocome at all, at such an hour. He waited a little longer, and then, as hewas on the point of leaving, he heard light footsteps approaching, andrecognized them with a lover's keen perception. He hurried to meet theslim, girlish figure, with a light cloak fluttering from her shoulders,and Madge's little cry of pleasure was stifled on her lips as he kissedthem again and again.
"My darling!" he whispered eagerly. "I scarcely dared to hope that youwould come to-night, but I could not stay away. Do you know that youhave treated me cruelly? I have not seen you for two days--sinceWednesday afternoon. And I have been here twice."
"I am sorry, Jack, but I could not help it. I missed you ever so much."
"Where is your father?"
"He is not at home--that is why I came. He is dining in town with anold friend, and won't be back until the last train, at the veryearliest."
"I am indebted to him. I was hungry for a sight of you, dearest."
"And I longed to see you, Jack. But I am afraid we shall not be able tomeet as often as before."
"Madge, what do you mean? Has anything gone wrong?"
The girl linked her arm in his, and drew him to a darker and lonelierspot by the water. In a few words, tremulously spoken, she told him whathe had already surmised--that her father had discovered her secret, andhad taxed her with it when he came home on the previous evening.
"By Jove, it was my fault," Jack said, contritely. "I should not havetempted you to go on that unlucky trip last Tuesday. So you were seennear Richmond station by some meddlesome individual--probably when yougot out of the trap! But it may turn out for the best; your father couldnot have been kept in ignorance much longer. Was he angry?"
"Yes, Jack; but he seemed more hurt and grieved. Oh, it was such awretched time!"
"My poor girl! Does--does he want you to give me up?"
"He forbade me to see you again."
"And you are here!"
"Did you expect me to obey him?"
"What did you tell him, dearest?"
"All--everything. I spoke up bravely, Jack. I told him I was a womannow, and that I loved you with all my heart, and intended to marry you!"
"My own plucky Madge! And I suppose that made him the more angry?"
"No; my defiance surprised him--he thought I would yield. He talkedabout ingratitude, and called me a foolish girl who did not know her ownmind. He looked awfully sad and stern, Jack, but when I kissed him andbegged him not to be angry, he melted a little."
"And gave in?"
"No, neither of us yielded; we agreed to a sort of a tacit truce. Fatherdid not speak of the matter again, and he went to town very early thismorning, before I was up. He left word with Mrs. Sedgewick that he wouldnot be back until late. I was sure he would go to your studio."
"I have not seen him," replied Jack; "but I hope he will come. If hedoesn't I shall call on him and ask for your hand, and without delay. Itis the only honorable course. Until I set things right with him, andsatisfy him of my intentions, I can't blame him for thinking all sortsof evil of me."
"If he knew you as I know you, dear!"
"But he doesn't," Jack said, bitterly. "Is it likely that he will consentto let you marry a poor artist? No. But I can't--I won't--give you up,Madge!"
The girl rested her hands on his shoulders, and looked trustfully intohis face.
"Dear Jack, don't worry," she whispered. "It will all come right in theend. We love each other, and we will be true. Nothing shall part us. Iam yours always, and some day I will be your wife. Promise that you willbelieve me--that you will never be afraid of losing me!"
"I _do_ believe you, darling," Jack said, fervently. "You have made mehappy again--your words have driven the clouds away. I could not livewithout you, Madge. Since I have known you the whole world seemsbrighter and better. For your sake I am going to make a name and afortune."
He kissed her passionately, and for a few moments they stood watchingthe incoming tide, and talking in a lighter vein. Then they parted, andMadge slipped away toward the old house with its guardian elm trees. Thememory of her last words cheered Jack as he walked to the high-road andthence to his studio. Alphonse had prepared him a tempting littlesupper, and he did not go to town that night.
The next morning London awoke to a new sensation, which quite eclipsedthe week-old theft of the Duchess of Hightower's jewels and the recentmysterious murder at Hoxton. The news was at first meager andunsatisfactory, and contained little more in substance than was foundin the big headlines and on the posters of the leading papers:
DARING ROBBERY AT LAMB AND DRUMMOND'S.
THE FAMOUS REMBRANDT CARRIED OFF--WATCHMAN BRUTALLY HANDLED.
The early journals had gone to press before a full report of the affaircould reach them, but a detailed account appeared between ten and eleveno'clock in the first edition of the afternoon papers. The Rembrandt wasgone--there was no doubt of it--and the story of its disappearancecontained many dramatic elements. A curious crowd gathered about thepremises of Lamb and Drummond on Pall Mall, to gaze at the now vacantwindow, and the services of a policeman were required to keep thesidewalk clear. Many persons recalled the similar case, some yearsbefore, of the Gainsborough portrait of the Duchess of Devonshire.
Mr. Lamb, it appeared, had been detained at his place of business untillong after the closing hour, writing important letters. He left at nineo'clock, and Raper, the night watchman, fastened the street door behindhim. During the night the policeman on duty in Pall Mall saw or heardnothing suspicious about the premises. The Rembrandt was on an easel ina large room back of the shop proper, and from it a rear door opened ona narrow paved passage leading to Crown Court; the inmates heard nonoise in the night. At four o'clock in the morning a policeman, flashinghis lantern in Crown Court, found a window open at the back of Lamb andDrummond's premises. He entered at once. Inside the gas was burningdimly, and the watchman lay bound and gagged in a corner, with a strongodor of drugs mingling with his breath. The Rembrandt had been cut outof its frame and carried away.
"The robbery was evidently well-planned, and is enveloped in mystery,"said the _St. James' Gazette_, "and the thieves left not the slightestclew. It is difficult to conceive their motive. They cannot hope atpresent to dispose of the picture, which is known by reputation inEurope and America, nor is it certain that they could safely realizeon it after the lapse of years. The watchman, who has recoveredconsciousness, declared that he has no knowledge of how the thievesentered the building. It was about midnight, he states, when he wasknocked down from behind. He remembers nothing after that."
The _Globe's_ account was more sensational. "It has come to light,"wrote the enterprising reporter, "that Raper, the watchman, was in thehabit of slipping out to the Leather Bottle, on Crown Court, for adrink at ten o'clock every evening, and leaving the back door of theshop unlocked. He came into the private bar at the usual time lastnight, and remained for twenty minutes. He drank a pint of ale, and wasseen conversing with a shabbily dressed stranger, whose face wasunfamiliar to the publican and the barmaid. This incident suggests twotheories. Did the affable stranger drug Raper's beer, and, at a laterhour of the night, while the watchman was in a stupor, force the windowwith one or more companions and carry off the Rembrandt? Or was thewatchman in the plot? Did the thieves slip into the building while hewas in the Leather Bottle, and subsequently bind, gag and drug him, andforce open the window from the outside, in order to screen
him from thesuspicions of his employers? We learn that Raper has been suspended fromhis position, pending an investigation. Mr. Lamb informs us that theRembrandt was insured against fire and burglary for the sum of tenthousand guineas. The company is the Mutual, and they are sure to do allin their power to apprehend the thieves and save themselves from such aheavy loss."
Such was the gist of the newspaper accounts of the puzzling affair. Andnow to see how they affected certain individuals who are not strangersto the reader.
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